A nationwide alert has been sounded for the hunt of the men.
The eight SIMI activists, who fled from Bhopal Central Jail on Sunday night, were killed in an encounter with a special Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in Eintkhedi village on the outskirts of Bhopal, ANI reported.
The eight activists of the banned SIMI had escaped by killing a security guard and scaling the prison wall with the help of bed sheets, following which some officials responsible for jail security have been suspended, including the DIG of the jail.
According to NDTV, the prisoners were found around eight to 10 km from the jail on the outskirts of the city. Bhopal IG Ygesh Chaudhary told ANI, "We located the 8 inmates,they fired on us, and all of them were killed in cross firing."
Home Minister Bhupendra Singh told NDTV, "They attacked the police and injured them. The police had no choice but to kill them. They were dreaded terrorists." The state government claimed that the SIMI members were planning a major attack about which they did not have details.
The encounter between the fugitives and the joint team of ATS and the state police reportedly went on for about 30 minutes. Police said that at least two policemen sustained injuries.
Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Bhupendra Singh said alert had been sounded across the state, while jail officials concerned with looking after the security have been suspended. The state government had also announced a reward of Rs 5 lakh each on the heads of the activists after they were found to be missing. They were identified as -- Amzad, Zakir Hussain Sadiq, Mohammad Salik, Mujeeb Shaikh, Mehbood Guddu, Mohammad Kalid Ahmed, Aqeel and Majid, an official said.
The Home Ministry has asked the Madhya Pradesh government to send a detailed report about the jail break, whether there was any lapse on the part of the jail administration and the steps taken to check such incidents.This was the second major jail break by operatives of banned SIMI in three years after the sensational escape by seven members of the group from a jail in Khandwa in Madhya Pradesh in 2013.
A nationwide alert was sounded for the hunt of the eight SIMI men. All states neighbouring Madhya Pradesh were specifically told to remain alert and keep special vigil along their borders with Madhya Pradesh, PTI sources said.
The central security agencies were particularly anxious as four of the seven SIMI activities, who escaped from a jail in Khandwa October 1, 2013, could be arrested only after three years and during the period of their hiding, the militants were involved in multiple incidents of terror and a bank robbery. While in hiding, the SIMI men were allegedly involved in terror activities in several states including Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.
SIMI was banned by the government in 2001.
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